1910 AL Stargell Award

The Philadelphia Athletics won the pennant and their first World Series. They were an awesome team that would win three championships in four years; this year they won the pennant with ease, then beat up on a great Chicago pitching staff in the Series, outscoring the Cubs 35-15.
There was no pennant race in the AL this year, but there was a memorable race of another kind: a famous battle between Ty Cobb and Nap Lajoie to win both the batting title and a brand new automobile.

American League 1910

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
2B	N LAJOIE	CLE	384	445	514	591	227	51	7	4	94	76	60	26	960
2B	E COLLINS	PHI	322	381	417	583	188	16	15	3	81	81	49	81	800
CF	T SPEAKER	BOS	340	404	468	538	183	20	14	7	92	65	52	35	873
3B	F BAKER	PHI	283	329	392	561	159	25	15	2	83	74	34	21	721
SS	D BUSH	DET	262	365	323	496	130	13	4	3	90	34	78	49	687
SS	J BARRY	PHI	259	336	337	487	126	19	5	3	64	60	52	14	673
SS	B WALLACE	STL	258	324	323	508	131	19	7	0	47	37	49	12	647

CF	T COBB	DET	383	456	551	506	194	35	13	8	106	91	64	65	1008
LF	D MURPHY	PHI	300	338	436	560	168	28	18	4	70	64	31	18	774
RF	S CRAWFORD	DET	289	332	423	588	170	26	19	5	83	120	37	20	756
CF	R OLDRING	PHI	308	340	430	546	168	27	14	4	79	57	23	17	771
1B	J STAHL	BOS	271	334	424	531	144	19	16	10	68	77	42	22	758

1910 American League

Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Naps
Detroit Tigers
New York Highlanders
Philadelphia Athletics
St. Louis Browns
Washington Senators

         Before the season, auto manufacturer Hugh Chalmers decided to create the Chalmers Award, in which the winner of the batting title in each league won a free automobile. In the American League, the top contenders were Ty Cobb, the most hated player in the league, and Nap Lajoie, a beloved star who was having his last great season.
        Going into the last day of the season, Cobb had a lead of seven points, and decided to sit the day out. Lajoie played a double header, and had eight at bats. He got a hit in every at bat to win the title by a hair. Incidentally, seven of the eight hits were bunt hits to the third baseman. It was later revealed that the opposing manager ordered his third baseman to play deep for every Lajoie in every at bat, allowing Nap to lay down easy bunt hits. Nap won the batting title, and the car.
        Now Ty Cobb, he wasn't too pleased about this, losing out on both the batting title and the car. The matter was investigated, and the manager was barred from the game, though Lajoie's average stood at .384. Chalmers eventually gave a car to both players. The next year, the Chalmers Award was given to a player voted as Most Valuable by a group of writers. The Award lasted only four more years, but it was a good idea that would be followed up on years later.
        The story of Cobb and Lajoie took a few more twists afterwards; a recount of Cobb's stats revealed that a scorer's error had deprived him of two hits; those hits were restored to his season total, and he was officially recognized as the batting champion. Years later, another recount revealed that Cobb had also been accidentally awarded a pair of hits. Cobb is still the "official" batting champion, though Lajoie's average is now recognized as being several percentage points higher.
        As for who the MVP should be this year... I think it has to be Lajoie. This was his most impressive season, in which he compiled big numbers against legitimately strong competition. After Lajoie comes Cobb, whose team also had a fine season. Eddie Collins was the Athletics' best player, helping his team win the pennant.